Delmer J. Yoakum (December 6, 1915 – October 25, 1997) was an American

fine artist In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork. ...

, oil and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, designer, serigrapher,

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

motion picture studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

scenic artist.

Early life

Del Yoakum was born in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

. Throughout his childhood, he was surrounded by artists. His mother was a painter. After dismissing his hope of studying music, painting became his passion. As a boy in the late 1930s, he received a scholarship for four consecutive years to study each summer with Thomas Hart Benton at

Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. It has approxi ...

. After serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he came to Los Angeles and studied with

Henry Lee McFee Henry Lee McFee (April 14, 1886 – March 19, 1953) was a pioneer American cubist painter and a prominent member of the Woodstock artists colony. Biography McFee was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1886. From 1902 to 1905, he attended Kemper Mi ...

Phil Dike Phil Dike (1906-1990) was an American painter and art teacher. He painted watercolors, and he taught at Scripps College and the Claremont Graduate University. His work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National ...

, and

Rico Lebrun Rico (Federico) Lebrun (Naples, December 10, 1900 – Malibu, May 9, 1964) was an Italian-American painter and sculptor. Early life Lebrun was born in 1900 in Naples, Italy. He initially studied banking and journalism before taking art classes a ...

; and at

Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art In ...

Jepson Art Institute Jepson Art Institute, founded in 1945 by artist Herbert Jepson, was an art school located at 2861 West 7th Street in the Westlake district of central Los Angeles, California. It flourished from 1947 to 1953 — becoming an important center for ...

, and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

's Roski School of Fine Arts.

Professional life

Yoakum's occupation was that of a

Painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

- Designer - Motion Picture Artist in Hollywood, California from 1952-1972. Over 21 years, he worked for

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, and

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

; and did special assignments for Walt Disney Studios. During this time he also did his own fine art painting in his own studio. Among his many accomplishments during his long career, he painted the Grand Canyon and Primeval World Diorama scenery (viewable from the train of

Disneyland Railroad The Disneyland Railroad (DRR), formerly known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in the United St ...

), portions of

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with th ...

It's a Small World "It's a Small World" is a water-based boat ride located in the Fantasyland area at various Disney theme parks worldwide, including Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California; Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida; Tokyo Di ...

and the

Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displaye ...

in California. He also painted scenery for movies such as ''

The Shoes of the Fisherman The Shoes of the Fisherman may refer to: * ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (novel), a 1963 novel by the writer Morris West * ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (film), a 1968 film based on the novel {{disambiguation ...

'' for which he recreated the panel about the life of

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

, and parts of the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, for the interior of the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...

(MGM Studios). He created the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

for ''

The Robe ''The Robe'' is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion of Jesus, written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list in October 1942, four weeks late ...

'' (which won the 1953

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Art Direction–Set Decoration, Color), after which he created a fantastic 600 foot

cyclorama A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view, and also a building designed to show a panoramic image. The intended effect is to make vie ...

that backed the safari camp set of '' The Snows of Kilimanjaro''. Other films he created dioramic scenes for included

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...

's ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...

'' (nominated for the 1959 Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

), ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

'', ''

Niagara Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

'',

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''

North by Northwest ''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to ...

'' (the

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...

scene) and many others. During his term at 20th Century Fox, he also worked on many of the

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

pictures, and even one of the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

movies. Yoakum's work has been exhibited in over 50 galleries, associations, museums, festivals, schools, colleges, fairs and art shows. He also contributed paintings to a number of invitational group shows including two in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He received over 30 awards and his paintings also received national recognition in art publications, including a number of art books and several art magazines over the years.

Personal life

Del was married to his wife Barbara Yoakum for over 50 years. He had three children; Robert, Bob and Cathleen. He lived in

Sedona, Arizona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

for more than 25 years. He was a lifelong

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and a committed Christian, who even painted

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

(which hangs in England's

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

) and

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

(which is in the permanent collection of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Sedona).

Publications

*Who's Who in American Art *Who's Who in the West *American Artist Magazine *Newport Magazine Cover *The Illustrator (Magazine) *Dictionary of International Biography *Art News Magazine *International Directory (Cambridge, England) *"Landscapes" (Book), Davis Publications, Inc., 1977 *Arizona Highways (Magazine), 1981 *Road Runner (Book Cover), 198

*American Artists (Book), 1985 *The California Style (Book), 1985 *Sedona Heritage: Arizona Artists (Book), 1997 *Kudos (Magazine), 2006

Memberships

*National Watercolor Society (Past President 1961 and Honorary Life Member) *Inglewood Art League (Honorary Life Member) *Artist Equity Board Member (1951 through 1955) *National Society of Literature and the Arts *Sedona Art Center, Sedona, Arizona

Awards

*National GI Exhibit, - Grand Prize - 1948 - Santa Monica, CA *Adahl Hyde Morrison Silver Medal 2nd Award -Oakland, CA *Frye Museum - Edouvard Manet Award - 1958 - Seattle, WA *Santa Monica Arts, Ass'n - 1st Prize - 1948 & 1949 - Santa Monica, CA *Hawthorne Methodist Church - Grand Award - Hawthorne, CA *Deluca Award, Las Vegas, NV *Inglewood Art League - 1st Award - Inglewood, CA *California State Fair - Honorable Mention Award *Riverside Art Ass'n - 3rd Award - 1966 - Riverside, CA *Downey Museum of Art - Honorable Mention Award - 1969 *City of Avalon Best of Show - 1967 - Avalon, CA ''(see image at right)'' *John Marin Memorial Award - Watercolor USA - 1971 *St. Raymonds - 1st Prize - 1971 - Thousand Oaks, CA *Hawthorne Art Festival - 2nd Award - 1971 - Hawthorne, CA *Arches Paper Award - National Watercolor Society - 1971 *Inglewood Art League - 1st Award - 1970 - Inglewood, CA *Hawthorne Art Festival - 1st Award - 1970 - Hawthorne, CA *San Bernardino Art Ass'n - 2nd Award - San Bernardino, CA *Catalina Art Ass'n - Honorable Mention Award - 1967 *Catalina Art Ass'n - 3rd Award - 1968 *California State Fair - Honorable Mention Award - 1966 - Sacramento, CA *Frye Museum - Honorable Mention Award - 1963 - Seattle, WA *Inglewood Art League - Best of Show - 1969 *Arizona State Fair - Honorable Mention Award - 1973 *Arizona State Fair - Cash Award - 1974 *Arizona State Fair - Public Appeal Award - 1980 *Arizona State Fair - 1st Place Cash Award - 1984 *Arizona State Fair - Honorable Mention Award (WC) - 1986 *Coconino County Fair - 1st Prize - 1973 and 1974 *Laguna Beach Museum of Art Award - National Watercolor Society - 1975 *Jerome Art Center - 1st Prize WC - 1985 *Best of Show - WC - 1985 - Winslow, AZ *1st Place - Oil - 1985 - Winslow, AZ *1st Place - WC - 1985 - Winslow, AZ *Honorable Mention Award - Oil - Winslow, AZ (WC = Water Color)

Permanent collections

*Butler Institute of American Art, Oil *San Diego Art Museum, Watercolor *National Watercolor Society, purchase, Motion Picture Art Director *Newport High School *Las Vegas art Association, Nevada Power and Electric *Glendale Federal Savings and Loan, Glendale, Ca *Brussels, Belgium, Page J. Thibodeaux *Washburn School *Coventry Cathedral, Coventry, England, Oil *St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Sedona, AZ, Oil *Sedona High School *Sedona Chamber of Commerce *Many Private Collections

Exhibited

*Los Angeles Museum 1947-1950, 1952, 1954–1955, 1957 and 1958 *Denver Museum 1953, 1954, and 1960 *Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts 1957, 1969, and 1970 *The Butler Institute of American Art 1953, 1955, 1957–1959, 1964, 1967–1971, 1975–1978, 1980–1985 *Oakland Art Museum 1949, 1950, 1952, 1957, 1966, and 1967 *San Diego Art Museum 1954 *Watercolor USA 1966, 1968–1973, and 1975 *University of Washington 1954 *Hawthorne Art Festival 1967-1969, and 1971 *National Watercolor Society 1954, 1956–1976, 1980, 1982–1985 *DeYoung Museum 1962 *Los Angeles Art Association 1946, 1949, 1951, and 1953 *Frye Museum 1958, 1959, 1961–1965 *Newport High School 1953-1957, 1959–1961 *American Artist Galleries 1949 *National Orange Show 1947, 1949, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1964, 1966, and 1967 *Arizona State Fair 1948, 1973–1977, 1980–1986 *John Ringling Museum 1959 and 1960 *Long Beach Museum 1959, 1960, and 1962 *San Francisco Art Association 1959 *Dulin Gallery of Art 1964 *Virginia Museum 1958 and 1962 *Las Vegas Art Association 1959, 1963, 1965, and 1968 *Pasadena Museum 1954, 1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961 *Palos Verdes Art Gallery 1958 and 1969 *Henry Gallery 1954 *Richmond Art Gallery 1958-1969, and 1963 *Pacific Art Festival 1949 *California Palace Legion of Honor 1955-1957, 1959, and 1961 *Wichita Kansas Centennial 1970 *St. Raymonds, Thousand Oaks, California 1970 *Tucson Art Museum 1964 *Los Angeles Miracle Mile 1965, 1966–1968 *Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery 1946-1948, and 1950 *California State Fair 1951, 1955–1958, 1962, 1966, 1968, and 1970 *Inglewood Art League 1961-1969 *Riverside Art Association 1966 and 1971 *Riverside National Date Festival Exhibit 1966 *Santa Monica Art Association 1949 and 1958 *Downey Museum of Art 1969 *Los Angeles City Art Festival 1965-1971 *Catalina Art Association 1966-1971 *Cerritos College 1967 *La Mirada Art Association 1967 and 1968 *Laguna Beach Art Show 1969 *Los Angeles Home Show 1967 and 1978 *Mainstreams (Marietta, Ohio) 1968 *Glendale Fine Arts Center (Glendale AZ) 1984 and 1985 *Sedona Arts Center (Sedona AZ) 1981 and 1986 *Winslow, AZ 1985 and 1986 *Jerome Art Center (Jerome AZ) 1986 *Santa Paula 1958, 1961–1963, 1967, 1968, and 1970 *Grand Canyon Diorama, Disneyland 1958–present

Quotations

* * Regarding Del Yoakum: * (Les Krantz, ''American Artists'') * (Isabel McCord Stroud, ''Sedona Heritage: Arizona Artists'') * (Lucas O. Seastrom, ''Welcome to the Disneyland Railroad Grand Canyon Diorama Tribute!!'')

External links

Delmer J. Yoakum, "Hollywood Scenic Artist"Ask Art: Del YoakumMultibello: Delmer J. Yoakum
*

* ttp://www.naturegraph.com/nature/birds/Roadrunn.html ''Road-Runner!'' book featuring paintings of Del Yoakum's"''Delmer J. Yoakum of Sedona did beautiful watercolor paintings of roadrunners which were used for the front and back covers of the book''."
Ask ART: Henry Lee McFeeAsk ART: Phil DikeAsk ART: Rico Lebrun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoakum, Delmer J. 1915 births 1996 deaths Painters from California 20th-century American painters American male painters USC Roski School of Fine Arts alumni Kansas City Art Institute alumni People from St. Joseph, Missouri Painters from Missouri United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American male artists